“Gringo Trails depicts in sometimes shocking images, the bad, the ugly and yes, the good sides of tourism, sparking much needed discussions about what it means to be a traveler” —National Geographic Traveler

“a film more than a decade in the making by American anthropologist Pegi Vail, looks at the effect of the unplanned or mismanaged growth of the tourism industry in developing countries.” —CNN International

“…absorbing look at how tourism has altered the ecology, geography and culture of some of the world’s most beautiful and remote areas…the cleverly edited and beautifully shot film ends on a hopeful note with the emergence of sustainable models.” —NOW Toronto

“Whether you’re an armchair traveler or you’re working through a bucket list of exotic destinations, it’s an important and moving film.” —Outside Magazine

“a fascinating and beautifully shot documentary called Gringo Trails about what happens to those faraway beaches, jungles, cultures after the crush of tourists arrive. It’s playing at the American Natural History Museum on Saturday, October 19, and should be required viewing for all thoughtful travelers.” —Conde Nast Traveler

“a thought-provoking documentary…that largely de-romanticizes a travel subculture that thrives on romanticized self-perception…but it’s not an anti-backpacker film. In fact, it ends on a hopeful, prescriptive note” —Travel Weekly

“In GRINGO TRAILS, Vail travels around the world to show how travelers are affected by the romance of packaged travel stories in the media as well as through word of mouth. Adventure becomes a commodity…How do we reconcile our romantic images of the world with the truth of what our presence in those places means?”—Gadling

“It’s a compelling but tragic story: how all over the world we’re destroying the places we love by the very plentitude of our love, how pristine beaches and verdant rain forests and even remote deserts are being overwhelmed by great swarms of backpacking tourists. Pegi Vail is a genius at coaxing out all the small stories that add up at last to her terrible heartbreaking vision: the plague of too much us.” —George Green, writer/founder, The Moth

“If you love to travel, and want to do it responsibly, see this wonderfully nuanced, funny film that shows the joy and horror of travel, and gives you a visa to some possible solutions.” —Pamela Yates, documentary filmmaker

“What is striking about all the natives interviewed in the film’s many varied locations is how soft spoken they are. The idea of a free-for-all, of the laissez-faire tourist loudly doing whatever he or she wants, may be waning, and the idea of all of us as guests on earth may be taking hold.”—WG

“effective scenes of tourists making innocent mistakes that have real consequences”—Fox News